Whine-filled post about doing a detox/restrictive diet :P

[micaturtle]

Well, as Jenn says here, Jennifer and I have been on a 10-day detox thingy called "Ultra Clear Plus" since wednesday of last week. We decided to do it because Jenn wants to make sure it's not her diet that is causing her goiter and the nodules in her thyroid. Jenn also gets occasional stabbing pain in the area of her liver, and this is supposed to be an excellent liver detoxifying regiment.

We decided to augment the regiment a little bit because Jenn was absolutely exhausted and getting light-headed and feeling like she was going to pass out even when we had eliminated just sugars, meats, dairy, eggs, and gluten. Dropping down to the extremely limited diet of days 5-7 was going to be WAY too much for Jennifer, in both of our opinions. So we decided to just do days 5-7 with fruits and vegetables only.

We originally were going to go on the Rakowski cleanse, which is a MUCH more restrictive detox program (you're only allowed to eat 1 type of green vegetable a day, and nothing else except that, water, and the "medical food" they provide) The reason we were going to try it is because my dad (who is extremely overweight and has COPD) was prescribed it by his heart doctor, and he had very good results with it, feeling much more energized by it. However, when we went to talk to the doctor to get the "medical food", the guy we got it from recommended that we do this less restrictive detox instead, because they only use the Rakowski cleanse for their most extreme cases.

The problem is, this detox is kicking my ass. :P I'm tired and achy and hungry. *pouts, all whiny-faced* I think the worst thing for me is giving up sugar & caffeine. Jenn doesn't drink much caffeine, but I like to have my 1-liter of Dr. Pepper a day (I know it seems like a lot, but a lot of people drink coffee, I prefer Dr. Pepper) Also, I *LOVE* sugar. I have a hell of a sweet tooth, and I know it.

I have insanely intense headaches, extreme fatigue, stomach ache, loose stools, and body aches with this detox. Has anyone else out there on my f-list done a cleanse/detox? Did you have similar side effects? Which one did you try and what were your results?

Comments

[reasonabledist.livejournal.com]

It's the sudden removal of all that caffeine, hon. I've been there. You're probably feeling a little bit grumpy, and foggy-minded, too.

Drink lots of water, rest when you can, and remember that it will all be better in a few days, once your body adjusts to the new levels of stimulant.

[micaturtle.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's the removal of caffiene, because I removed that last wednesday, and I didn't start getting these terrible headaches and body aches until like friday, when we cut out all glutens :|

I miss my breads. I WANNA SAMMICH!

[soliloquy.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of relieved that my weight gain is due to my metabolic/endocrine issues and not my diet, because I was getting down on myself about willpower and worrying about my diet.
Yet, it's also really disappointing that I did this detox thing and didn't lose a pound!

Just tomorrow left and then you can add stuff back, sweetie! :-)
I, for one, am excited to have New York Express pizza on Saturday ... or even Friday night if I just can't hold out for one more day!

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Definitely the caffeine withdrawal. Did you drop from a 2-liter to nothing in one day? It's a wonder you don't have a full migraine (or is that what you meant by insanely intense headache?). Caffeine is one of those things you have to go onto and off of gradually. Going back on it, if you go from nothing to a 2-liter you'll get headaches as well (although probably not the fatigue, fatigue is usually only for withdrawal). Try a cup the first day, two cups the second, etc. (You can drink caffeine-free for the other cups, if you want more soda. I'm drinking caffeine-free Dr Pepper this week, incidentally, since I was craving Dr Pepper when I picked out my soda (normally I buy a naturally caffeine-free soda, like citrus or pineapple).) And drink water! Lots of it.

Ibuprofen helps me, if I accidentally have too much caffeine. Water helps even more. Take something to take the edge off the headache, then start drinking as much water as you can hold.

I've not done any detoxes, but stomach ache and loose stools are common side effects if I eat primarily veggies for a few days in a row. It'll sort itself out on its own once you add other stuff back in. In the meantime, if you can eat a high-fiber veggie, that might help a little bit.

[micaturtle.livejournal.com]

caffiene-free dr. pepper? Wow. they don't make/distribute that around here. Must be a regional thing.

I don't think it's caffeine withdrawl. I normally only drink a little less than a 1-liter of Dr. Pepper per day (mostly in the morning to wake up) and I don't drink any Dr. Pepper on the weekend, and I don't have any of these symptoms on the weekends.

I've been taking a lot of aleve, and it is better today than it has been the last few days. I think it is because I cut out gluten and dairy products.

I am drinking a TON of water, and I wonder if that might be what's causing my tummyaches. :P

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Could be. They're distributed by Pepsi around here (even tho Dr Pepper's a separate company), and Pepsi's local to the southeast. I think Dr. Pepper may be local as well; I know we have a plant in the area but I don't know where their headquarters is.

Oh, goodness. I read that as "2-liter" in your entry; we don't have a lot of 1-liter sodas around here, mostly tea is what comes in 1-liters here. So I thought you were drinking the whole 2-liter... which is a lot of caffeine.

So it sounds like you're not actually caffeine sensitive at all, so while I would still keep it in mind as a contributing factor, yeah, I agree that it's probably actually the gluten. Eating gluten can cause headaches, but there's also some reactions involving blood-sugar when going gluten-free, and those can cause headaches too.

(Although I'm starting to wonder if there's anything that *can't* cause headaches, in terms of eating or not eating it.)

Mmm, could be. Water on an empty stomach makes me nauseous; I avoid drinking any in the morning until I eat breakfast. It doesn't usually bother me once I've eaten, though.

[askre.livejournal.com]

I'm personally in the slow process myself of weening(sp?) myself off soda and other food items I used to buy and eat way too much of. But yeah, dropping off from a around 2 liters of soda full of caffeine to nothing immediately is not a good idea, there is headache, feeling more tired than usual and you can even get very cranky at mundane things.

Actually that last bit applies even when you are just slowly letting go off caffeine. Yesterday I was screaming my lungs off at road construction work that needed to be done, just because it forced me to take a five minute side tour to get back to my usual route back home from work. After I calmed down I realized that was just the lack of caffeine in my system speaking. I usually just groan and mutter and joke about things like that O_o

So yeah, you are feeling nothing unusual. Good luck with the detox :D

[micaturtle.livejournal.com]

Stupid road construction! It can kiss my shell! Stoopid delaying bastards! *shakes fist at inconciences for your sake*

[mindy-mousie.livejournal.com]

Anytime you drop something cold turkey, your body will go into a crazy mode. Headaches, sniffles, etc. I had those when I dropped caffeine cold turkey a few years ago.

I hope you guys are feeling a little better now!!

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Apparently some of those side effects might be ketosis. So, um.

I'm kind of a skeptic about cleanses.

[micaturtle.livejournal.com]

ketosis?? o_O What's that? (I know, I know, I should google it, mother-fucker, but I'm at work right now)

I'm kinda a skeptic about cleanses too, but it worked really well for my dad, so I decided to try it. I would never try some of the CRAZY diet cleanses out there tho. Like I saw on some website information about COFFEE ENEMAS?!?! WTF??

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Your organs crying out in protest because THEY NEED REAL FOOD omg. I don't know exactly what you're eating, obviously! I just worry, heh.

...wtf.

[horsetechie.livejournal.com]

I never did a detox, but I echo everyone that extreme diet changes can indeed throw your body for a loop.

You might want to be careful with your blood sugars too. Without the protein and the fats to slow down the absorption, or food in general, the sugars from the fruits may be giving you a sort of sugar rush and then drop.

Totally unrelated, I found from my kids that eating lots of fruit and drinking 100% fruit juices can give them loose poop. (Which is why the pediatrician often tells us parents to not give kids fruit juice when they have diarrhea) ^^; But yet, that medicine you are taking with could also be fiber based and is "scraping" out any remaining "stuff" that had been stuck in your crannies of your colon. (yeah, I heard a freind explain to me about that part of a detox :p)

[micaturtle.livejournal.com]

LOL @ the comment that the medicine is scraping stuff outta the nooks & crannies of my colon! Oh the mental images I have! XD (I know, I'm easily amused)